There is more than one reason for taking lots of pictures of your car right before handing it over to the carrier. Read this detailed guide to know what those are and how you should go about taking pictures.
It Gives You Leverage:
One of the reasons many opt for taking pictures or even making videos of their vehicles before shipping them is to get leverage over the carrier. If you want the carrier to be very cautious when dealing with your vehicle, then taking lots of pictures of your car in front of them at the time of delivery is the way to do t.
They’ll know that you have the evidence of the car’s condition from when it was being loaded onto their trailer. So if they mess things up and the car gets even a single scratch, they’ll be held accountable for that with solid proof in the form of videos and pictures.
Helps with Insurance Claim:
This is the main reason why many take pictures of their vehicles when getting auto transport service. If you’ve got the pictures to prove that the condition of the car before shipping doesn’t match with after delivery, you’ll have better chances of getting insurance money.
However, for that, you need to be very careful when taking a picture. The quality should be HD, and the image should be clear, not blurry or pixelated. Even the smallest details like existing scratches or dents should be visible in the pictures.
Here’s How to Do it – Prepare an Inspection Report:
The first step to ensuring you achieve your purpose of taking those pictures, i-e getting insurance claims cleared, is to prepare an inspection report. In that report, you’ll list every single detail of the car’s condition ranging from small scratches to big dents (if any). The gist is, everything about your vehicle should be in that report.
Once the report is prepared, take lots of pictures of the vehicle from every angle ranging from sides to back, roof, hood, front grille, bumpers to tires, trunk, and even below the car. You can have the pictures printed or just show them to the carrier and ask if he agrees the condition matches the picture. IF he says so, get his signature on the car’s inspection report you prepared.
Once you both have signed the document, get a copy of the original report and give it to the carrier; keep the original one with you. Now when the vehicle is delivered, you need to make sure the condition of the car matches to what’s documented in the inspection report and the pictures you took.
If you are going to be on the receiving end, then you can just match everything. However, if someone else is there, send them the copy of the inspection report and the pictures you took and ask them to carefully match every nook of the vehicle with the condition – it should match exactly. If everything goes smoothly, they sign the receiving form, and you’re good to go.
If you find additional damages that are not in the pictures and inspection report, file an insurance claim with the car transport company.
Parting Words:
We suggest turning on the timestamp feature in your camera so there’s the date and time printed on the pictures in case the case goes to court and you need to provide the credibility of the photos.
You’ll be able to say they were taken right at the time of pickup, which was documented in the inspection report and carrier’s logbook.
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